Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO: 06-6156, SECTION: "D"(3).
January 16, 2007
ORDER AND REASONS
Before the court is the "Motion to Sever" filed by Defendant, Auto Club Family Insurance Company (AAA). Plaintiffs filed a memorandum in opposition. The motion, set for hearing on Wednesday, January 17, 2007, is before the court on briefs, without oral argument. Now, having considered the memoranda of counsel, the record, and the applicable law, the court finds that the motion should be granted.
In this Katrina-related matter, seven sets of Plaintiffs (with each set of Plaintiffs having a separate and distinct homeowner's insurance policy with AAA covering seven different properties in the New Orleans area) sue Defendant AAA, claiming respective property damage as a result of Hurricane Katrina and seeking the policy limits of their respective AAA insurance policies under Louisiana's "Valued Policy Law," LSA-R.S. 22:695(A). There is no allegation that AAA's actions regarding any one of the seven properties/policies in dispute are in any way related to any of the other properties/policies in dispute.
Because the claims of each of the seven sets of Plaintiffs will necessarily involve different factual issues and witnesses, the court find that the claims of the seven sets of Plaintiffs should be severed and proceeded with separately in the "furtherance of convenience or to avoid prejudice," and to promote "expedition and economy." Fed.R.Civ.Proc. 42(b); see also Fed.R.Civ.Proc. 21.
Accordingly;
IT IS ORDERED that the "Motion to Sever" filed by Defendant, Auto Club Family Insurance Company, be and is hereby GRANTED. The claims of each of the seven sets of Plaintiffs will be severed from the others. When the Courtroom Deputy holds the Scheduling Conference with counsel, a different Scheduling Order will be issued for each set of Plaintiffs, but documentation of all seven claims will continue to be docketed under one Docket Number, No. 06-6156.